Florida’s Biggest Cities Seeing Economic Output Grow

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — While wages and unemployment continue to lag behind, the economic output in Florida’s three largest metro areas continues to grow.

According to new numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the gross domestic product grew by 3.5 percent in South Florida, 3.1 percent in Tampa, and 3 percent in Orlando.

According to the federal bureau, the leading driver of economic output in South Florida was trade. Trade was the leader in Tampa, too, but leisure and hospitality was the top driver of economic output in Orlando.

Nationally, metro areas had average growth in gross domestic product of 2.5 percent.

The fastest growth in economic output nationally was in San Francisco, Houston and Dallas.